Few people would deny that cell phones make it much easier to keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues.
Few people would deny that cell phones make it much easier to keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues.
However, with their tendency to go off at the wrong moments, irritating ringing tones and occasionally unreliable reception, it is easy to consider them as more of a curse than a blessing.
A group of frustrated cell phone users in the United Kingdom have certainly decided that cell phones deserve to be cut down to size.
As reported in London's Evening Standard, they have organised the first UK Mobile Phone Throwing Championships.
The longest throw by a woman was a world record of 38.74 metres, while the man's title was won with a throw of 69.31 metres a long way short of the all-time biggest throw of 103.10 metres, set in Finland, where cell phone throwing dates back five years.
Gulf News met Dubai residents to find out if anybody ever had the urge to grab their cell phones from their pockets and throw them as far away as they could.
Public relations worker Mohammad Saleem, 36, from India, confessed that he had broken at least two cell phones out of sheer anger.
He bought his first cell in 1997 and has got through seven or eight of the little devices since then.
"I feel like breaking them sometimes when the conversations I have make me angry so I think maybe these championships are a good idea," he said.
However, Ebrahim Sultan, 59, an Iranian who has lived in the UAE for 35 years, said he could not live without his cell phone.
"I am a businessman so I need my cell phone all the time. When cell phones stop, Dubai stops that happened during the power cut. To live in Dubai without a cell phone is impossible," he said.
His view that cell phones were indispensable was shared by Nafiz Mohammad, a 37-year-old from Sudan.
"I have had a cell phone for seven years and now I cannot live without my cell phone, so I am surprised people would want to throw them away like they have done in London. I use my cell phone at all times," he said.
However important cell phones are to Sultan and Mohammad, they play an even bigger role in the life of Ahmad Eskander.
Eskander, a 45-year-old from Saudi Arabia, makes his living as a cell phone dealer.
He keeps his own cell phone on for 24 hours a day and claims never to get frustrated with the device.
"I don't think cell phone throwing would take off in Dubai. I don't think it's a good idea they are so useful," he said.
However, Skariya Nadakkvil, a receptionist, admitted that he gets very fed up with cell phones at times.
The 40-year-old has two cell phones one for work and one for personal use and said he often suffers sleepless nights because one of the pair goes off in the middle of the night.
"Throwing cell phones is a good idea to get rid of them," he joked.
Office worker Lily Wen, 34, from Vietnam, has had a cell phone for the past seven years and was another person who admitted to not being able to live without her cell phone.
"It's a silly idea it won't catch on here," she said.
Government employee Abdul Majid, 42, a UAE national, took the same view, saying it was "impossible not to have" a cell phone in Dubai.
"For work, for family, for all aspects of life, you need one. Sometimes they make your temperature rise, but I could not live without mine.
"I don't think cell phone throwing would become popular in Dubai."
Nasrin Shaikholeslami, 35, who comes from Iran and works in a travel agency, is a relative newcomer to the joys of cell phone ownership, having only had one for two years.
"A few times it disturbs me, but mostly I like having my cell phone. I definitely don't want to throw it away in some silly competition," she said with a laugh.
London
People channel anger into new sport
People driven mad by an irritating ringtone or dodgy reception can now channel their anger into a new sport.
South London has hosted the first UK Mobile Phone Throwing Championships and found a new world record holder on the last throw.
The sport has been played in Finland for more than five years but this is the first time it has reached here.
Challengers from across the capital descended on Richmond Park golf course eager to attain glory by beating the men's record of 103.10 metres or the women's record of 32.73 metres.
Jan Singleton, 28, a PR worker from Clapham, shattered the latter record by flinging a cell phone 38.74 metres up the driving range.
She added: "It's down to a desire to hold a world record which I have had from an early age. Having 20 people cheering you on helps as well."
The men struggled against a slight headwind and winner Tom Day was far short of the record with a throw of 69.31 metres. The event was organised by 8th Day UK, a group specialising in unusual sports.
Co-founder Ross Williams, who hopes to make the championships an annual event, said: "The discus and javelin don't mean much these days. Throwing a cell phone is far more relevant."
Competitors adopted different techniques, ranging from a cricket throw to a discus action for larger, personal organiser-style 3G cell phones.
Many said they had been helped by being able to tap into their anger at cell phones. Graham Hills, 30, of Ealing, said: "It's really good for taking out your frustration, when a battery runs out or it has cut out on you."
Steve Basey, 30, from Acton, said: "My motivation is to think about call centres. Everyone has been annoyed with their phones at some point. If you were asked to pick something to throw, it would be a phone or a computer."
Evening Standard
Sign up for the Daily Briefing
Get the latest news and updates straight to your inbox